[Clark, first draft:]
December 8th.. Sunday 1805.
a cloudy morning, I took 5 men and set out to the See to
find the nearest place & make a way to prevent our men getting
lost and find a place to make salt, steered S. 62°. W at 2
miles passed the head of a Brook runing to the right, the lands
good roleing much falling timber, lofty Pine of the Spruce kind,
& some fur, passed over a high hill & to a creek which we kept
down 1 ½ miles and left it to our right, saw fish in this creek
& Elk Bear tracks on it, passed over a ridge to a low
marshey bottom which we crossed thro water & thick brush
for ½ a mile to the commencement of a Prarie which wavers,
covered with grass & Sackay commis, at ½ crossed a marsh
200 yds wide, boggey and arrived at a creek which runs to the
right. Saw a gange of Elk on the opposit side below, rafted
the creek, with much dificulty & followed the Elk thro emence
bogs, & over 4 small knobs in the bogs about 4 miles to the
South & killed an Elk, and formed a camp, covered our selves
with the Elk skins, the left of us Bogs & a lake or pond
those bogs shake, much cramberry growing amongst the moss.
Some rain this evening we made a harty supper of the Elk &
hung up the bal
e.
Sunday 8th. December 1805 Fort Clatsop[19]
We haveing fixed on this Situation as the one best Calculated
for our Winter quarters I deturmin'd to go as direct a Course
as I could to the Sea Coast which we could here roar and
appeared to be at no great distance from us, my principal
object is to look out a place to make Salt, blaze the road or
rout that they men out hunting might find the direction to
the fort if they Should get lost in cloudy weather—and See
the probibility of game in that direction, for the Support of the
Men, we Shall Send to make Salt, I took with me five men
and Set out on a Course S 60 W proceeded on a dividing
ridge through lofty piney land much falling timber. passed
the heads of 2 brooks one of them had wide bottoms which
was over flown & we waded to our knees crossed 2 Slashes[20]
(Swamps) and arrived at a Creek in a open ridgey prarie
covered with Sackacomma (Sac de Commis) this Creek we
were obliged to raft, which is about 60 yards over and runs,
in a direction to Point adams, we discovered a large gange of
Elk in the open lands, and we prosued them through verry
bad Slashes and Small ponds about 3 miles, Killed one and
camped on a spot Scercely large enough to lie Clear of the
Water, it is almost incredeable to assurt the bogs which those
animals can pass through, I prosue'd this gang of Elk
through bogs which the wate of a man would Shake for ½ an
Acre, and maney places I Sunk into the Mud and water up
to my hips without finding any bottom on the trale of those
Elk. Those bogs are covered with a kind of Moss among'
which I observe an ebundance of Cramberries. in those
Slashes Small Knobs are promisquisly scattered about which
are Steep and thickly Covered with pine Common to the
Countrey & Lorel. we made a camp of the Elk skin to keep
off the rain which continued to fall, the Small Knob on which
we camped did not afford a Sufficiency of dry wood for our
fire, we collected what dry wood we could and what Sticks
we could Cut down with the Tomahawks, which made us a
tolerable fire.
